rdewinter
Just tried my new conical sanding disc. I'm not sure I've got the setup right. I mounted some 12" flat disc sand paper and installed the disc and tilted my table until I was square. I used an engineers square to check square but my gauge only read 3+ degrees. Since I was square I didn't bother refining my table top. I set the table about 1/16" from the disc. Used a scrap 3" test piece and set my fence at 2 7/8".
It seemed like the leading edge of the disc is like the leading edge of a saw blade. Won't that produce excessive wear on the paper? How do you measure from the disc to set the fence as the disc has a 4 degree tilt? When I set the fence with a blade I measure from a static point, ie saw tooth tilting toward the fence. I produced a really square edge and face with my test piece but how do you achieve accuracy (for example, I want square stock at 2 1/2")?
Any reference material available on how to use the conical disk?
charlese
... I mounted some 12" flat disc sand paper and installed the disc and tilted my table until I was square.
How did you use flat sand paper? Did you cut out a pie slice?
I used an engineers square to check square but my gauge only read 3+ degrees. Since I was square I didn't bother refining my table top. I set the table about 1/16" from the disc. Used a scrap 3" test piece and set my fence at 2 7/8".
I'd check your trunnion indicator plate.
It seemed like the leading edge of the disc is like the leading edge of a saw blade. Won't that produce excessive wear on the paper? How do you measure from the disc to set the fence as the disc has a 4 degree tilt? When I set the fence with a blade I measure from a static point, ie saw tooth tilting toward the fence. I produced a really square edge and face with my test piece but how do you achieve accuracy (for example, I want square stock at 2 1/2")?
I don't set my fence the way you did. I set it at the same thickness as the board before sanding, then use the spindle to make adjustments.
Any reference material available on how to use the conical disk?
One good tip from the Forum is to never sand off (in one pass) more than the depth of the grit in the sand paper. If you are planning to remove 1/2" of wood - first rip saw it! I believe the conical disk is for smoother finishing - not ripping.
dusty
rdewinter, It sounds as though you are trying to resize lumber rather than edge sanding.
The conical sander does an excellent job of doing what it is designed for but is terrible (and dangerous) if you are trying to take off too much material.
If you haven't viewed this Sawdust Session, you really should:
http://www.shopsmithacademy.com/SS_Archives/SS101/SS101_ConicaL_Sander.htm
I'm interested in your comment about using standard sand paper. Please explain how you did this.
ryanbp01
Wouldn't it be easier to use the paper that is sold for the conical disk?
BPR
dusty
Yup, it would BPR. I was just curious. You never know what situation one might find oneself in someday. That's what makes "tips and tricks" so valuable.:confused:
ryanbp01
For me, the convenience of having the correct paper for the correct disk far outweighs trying to jerryrig something that would fit. I guess it all goes back to the saying "the right tool for the right job". However I suppose if one wanted to make a jig to set over a piece of sandpaper to cut it to fit on a conical disk is easy enough. But I fail to see any real savings.
BPR
jfran2
I just watched the Sawdust session on the Conical Sander. Thanks, Nick and Shopsmith, for making these available on the web. I've learned so much from them.
I'm still not totally sure what the conical sander will do that the flat sander won't, though. Can't I just angle my fence a little and do the same thing Nick was doing - taking off a precision amount from my workpiece, as the PTWFE suggests? How is the conical disk any better?
dusty
jfran2,
Yes, you can sort of do the same thing with a flat disk but not near as well and certainly not as safely.
Just stop and think about the machanics of this task. The flat sanding disk tends to pull the stock down against the table (on the infeed side) but then the stock passes centerline of the sanding disk and it nows tends to push the stock away from the table and back at you (sort of like a kickback).
With the conical disk, the stock being sanded only meets the sanding disk at one very narrow location (top dead center). Yes, at that point the tendency is to push the stock back at you.
If you are using the conical for very fine edge surface sanding, that won't be a problem.
HOWEVER, if you attempt to take off too much, you could be eating it.
reible
A few things to note.
1) you end up sanding with the grain not across it. At the point of contact the sandpaper is traveling in the same direction parallel to the wood. Rule one for sanding is sanding with the grain.
2) Course girt lets you take off a good deal of wood on a pass if you wish to, upto 1/8" per pass. Finer grits you take off less but get a more finished surface.
3) If you somehow don't have the manual please order it and read and understand the information, especial safety issues.
Have fun using it!
Ed
ryanbp01
My conical disk is dedicated for sharpening jointer knives. I figure I will purchase another flat disk for sharpening purposes since I have the lathe tool sharpening guide if I decide not purchase this system.
BPR
Nick
"I'm still not totally sure what the conical sander will do that the flat sander won't, though. Can't I just angle my fence a little and do the same thing Nick was doing - taking off a precision amount from my workpiece, as the PTWFE suggests? How is the conical disk any better?"
Yes, you can use the flat disc to do the same thing as the conical sander -- for about 5 minutes. Maybe 10 or 15, if you're sanding softwood. After that, the grit at the edge of the flat disc is gone.
Because the conical sander is, first and foremost, a cone the wood will make contact all along a line from the center of the disc to the edge. If you wear out the grit in one spot, just raise or lower the table so the wood meets a new spot on the disc. This is impossible to do on a flat disc. Once the grit is gone from the edge, you're screwed.
Originally, the conical sander was conceived as a way for folks to sharpen jointer and planer knives on the Shopsmith. You cannot accurately sharpen these cutting edges on a flat sander. And in a lttle less than two weeks, I'm going to show you something else you can do with the conical sander that is impossible with a flat disc -- precision thickness sanding. Be sure to watch that segment on Sawdust Session #14.
With all good wishes,
a1gutterman
Looking forward to it Nick: I am all signed up. Did the monitoring of Session 13 help? Are we going to see improvement?
rdewinter
charlese wrote... I mounted some 12" flat disc sand paper and installed the disc and tilted my table until I was square.
How did you use flat sand paper? Did you cut out a pie slice?
The only sandpaper I had was 12" flat for the flat disk. I admit it didn't seem to fit correctly, there was a bubble in it and it didn't lay flat and no hole in the center. It seemed to flap when turning. I knew it wasn't right. Need to order the right paper.
I used an engineers square to check square but my gauge only read 3+ degrees. Since I was square I didn't bother refining my table top. I set the table about 1/16" from the disc. Used a scrap 3" test piece and set my fence at 2 7/8".
I'd check your trunnion indicator plate.
Yes it may need a fine adjustment
It seemed like the leading edge of the disc is like the leading edge of a saw blade. Won't that produce excessive wear on the paper? How do you measure from the disc to set the fence as the disc has a 4 degree tilt? When I set the fence with a blade I measure from a static point, ie saw tooth tilting toward the fence. I produced a really square edge and face with my test piece but how do you achieve accuracy (for example, I want square stock at 2 1/2")?
I don't set my fence the way you did. I set it at the same thickness as the board before sanding, then use the spindle to make adjustments.
I didn't think you were suppose to use the spindle.
jimthej
Since we are talking about the conical sander, can I ask a question?
I did a little canvas stretcher frame the other day and got the stock 3 square using the jointer on 2 sides and ripping the 3rd to width. That was fine. Since I don't have a planer I did not try to square the 4th side. Would it have been possible to square the 4th side using the conical sander?
Not having that 4th side square caused some joint problems.
charlese
Jim - Sure you can! When building some cabinet doors, a while back, I used the conical disk sander in a similar way. Wanted to sand down the bottom of the stiles, which stood a little proud of the rail. Set up the conical disk and used my miter gauge with extension to push the door across the table. I went with light sanding removals and it worked perfectly! Results; a nice square, flat door bottom.
rdewinter - Incidently, used the Mark V quill extension to control the amount that was sanded off for each pass.
